CH43; Kingdom Tour

After everyone's left, Zhang Lian turned to face the cat and said, "So, does the baby have spiritual roots?" in a calm voice. 

The cat nodded, flying nervously. "Yes, Nya." 

Zhang Lian asked in confusion. "Then why didn't I hear the system's prompt and only receive a prompt for a 1 point?" 

"Nya, the system only recognizes spiritual roots if they reach level 1. Your son's roots were less than 1."

Zhang Lian's eyes were puzzled. "Can it really be like that?" she asked, her voice filled with confusion.

The cat nodded again. "Yes, Nya, let me give you an example: if one of the parents has level 4 spiritual roots and the other has level 2, there's a 50% chance the child will have level 3 roots, a 23% chance of level 4, and a 23% chance of having roots LV 1, and to get below or above, it comes in last 2% while chances of higher level continue to decrease and lower level continue to increase."

"In your case, with you at 0 and Jian Yu likely below 1, the chances were even lower."

Also, "Even if the spiritual roots are hard to measure, you can often tell early on if someone has them by their appearance."

"Children with high spiritual roots won't look ordinary. They might be extremely beautiful or very ugly or have some spiritual root characters unlike regular kids. They just look out of this world, for example, you." The cats said all this in a calm voice, pointing it's paw at Zhnag Lian.

Hearing this, Zhang Lian's began to become more angry, and she tried to grab the cat with her still weak body. But the cat easily dodged her, flying just out of reach.

"You bastard!" Zhang Lian cursed. "You couldn't have told me this before; I chose my concubines."

The cat, trying to stay innocent, replied, "Nya, you didn't ask."

"You didn't ask; you didn't ask; you keep saying this."  Zhang Lian repeated this sentence and said, "When I recover, I'll kill you a thousand times!" she shouted, her eyes filled with anger.

Zhang Lian shouted out for her maids because she was too tired to move out by herself. "Get me out of this room! Disturbed by the condition of her bed, she gave an order, saying, "It stinks in here, and the bed is wet too.".

---

Some days later, Zhang Lian was exercising in her private courtyard. Her movements were slow as her body was still healing from childbirth. She wore a simple, tight black exercise outfit that allowed her to move freely. 

Her white hair was tied with a black ribbon behind her back. Her sexy curves can be seen from it as she did her exercise.

Beside her, the cat lay on the ground, injured and bruised. Due to Zhnag Lian's beating.

The cat shivered now and then, its usual cheerfulness gone as it watched Zhang Lian go through her sexy exercise poses. Nearby, Lan watched, looking bored and slightly annoyed.

Zhang Lian stretched her arms above her head, then bent forward, touching her toes, showing her sexy ass covered with black clothes.

"Lan," she called, her voice calm and sweet, "did you tell the Chief Guard that I'm planning to tour the kingdom? Is everything ready?"

Lan sighed inwardly, feeling bored as she nodded. "Yes, miss," she replied in a flat tone. *Why does she keep me around all the time?* she thought. *I thought it was because she was pregnant, but even now, there's no break for me.* She sighed again, louder this time.

"Good," Zhang Lian said, finishing her last stretch. "Then get ready. We're going on the kingdom tour."

Lan blinked in surprise. "Miss, I'm going too?" she asked in confusion.

"Obviously," Zhang Lian replied, with a smile.

Lan sighed again, more accepting this time. *Great,* she thought. More orders, more work. Does she think she is queen, so she can just boss around people? But she didn't say anything; she just nodded politely. "Yes, miss," she said, turning to prepare.

….

Sometimes later, Zhang Lian came out of her room dressed as an empress. She wore a flowing red and gold robe that shone in the sunlight. 

Her long white hair was kept straight behind her back, held in place by a golden hairpin. Her makeup was light, making her natural beauty stand out, and her blue eyes and cold face made her look beautiful and powerful.

Lan followed closely behind, dressed in a simple yellow maid's robe. It wasn't as fancy as the queen's clothes, but it still looked like something someone serving royalty would wear. 

Her green hair was pulled back into a bun, and her green eyes looked like she was reluctantly accepting her duty. *I might as well get used to this,* she thought as she walked behind the queen.

Two guards were waiting for them outside, standing straight and serious. They wore uniforms, dark yellow with black edges, and their armor was polished to shine. The robes had a royal symbol on them—a picture of Zhang Lian's face, a new emblem that was introduced after she became queen.

Even the coins in the kingdom now had her face on them. The guards looked serious, and they bowed when the queen came out of the room. 

"Is everything ready?" Zhang Lian asked, looking sharply at the guards.

One of the guards, a tall man with a scar on his left cheek, nodded. "Yes, your highness. "Everything is prepared," he answered in a calm and confident manner.

With a nod of permission, Zhang Lian got up and followed the guard, and behind her, Lan followed closely with another guard, who was protecting the queen.

They moved along the hallway of the palace, which was filled with high walls and windows. Zhang Lian observed what was going on around her as they walked. The palace was full of activity, with servants going about their duties and bowing before her upon seeing The queen.

Ten minutes later, they reached the end of the hallway, and they saw a majestic white carriage waiting for them.

It was beautifully made of wood and metal, with a white horse tied to it. The carriage was white with gold edges, and on the side was the royal symbol—Zhang Lian's face, carved elegantly into the wood. 

The carriage was surrounded by more guards, who stood in a protective circle. They bowed deeply as Zhang Lian approached, showing their respect.

Zhang Lian nodded and walked toward the carriage. She moved with the elegance of a queen, her red and gold robes flowing as she walked. Lan quickly helped by lifting the edge of the queen's robe so it wouldn't touch the ground.

Zhang Lian carefully got into the carriage, bending her knees a little. Inside, the carriage was very fancy, with soft, smooth red cushions and dark wooden walls. The seats were wide and comfortable. Gold decorations hung from the curtains, which could be closed to block the view from outside.

Zhang Lian sat onto her seat, fixing her robes around her. Lan followed her in, sitting across from Zhang Lian with her hands neatly in her lap, waiting for further instructions.

Two guards rode their black horses outside. The carriage exited from the royal gates and into the crowded streets as the driver, who was dressed in simple but clean clothes, flicked the ropes to get the horses moving.

And the cat was sitting above the carriage to have a better view.

As they moved through the city, Zhang Lian watched the people through the carriage window. The streets were full of sellers calling out to people, children playing, and people doing their daily tasks.

The roads were clean, and the buildings looked strong and well-kept. The people wore simple but clean clothes, and they looked happy.

She was not just touring the kingdom—she was looking for someone special, a concubine who looks different than ordinary people and has not tested his spiritual roots.

As they passed a crowded street corner, a man standing by the road saw the luxurious carriage and asked his friend, an older man with a weathered face. "Is that the queen?" he asked.

The other older man nodded. "Yes, that's the queen.

The first old man looked surprised. "Really? I thought she was still pregnant. Why is she out now?"

The other old man said, "Well, the queen has already given birth to a prince just a few days ago. His name is Zhang Ping." Don't you know

The older man shrugged. "My son works in security. He said the queen was planning to travel through the kingdom."

The first old man said that's nice; never in my life have I seen any king or queen do this. The new queen is really kind.

The other old man nodded in agreement with the first old man.

….

Turning slightly, Zhang Lian spoke to the guard riding next to the carriage. "Are there any problems in the kingdom?" she asked, her voice calm but firm.

The guard shook his head, sitting straight as he rode beside the carriage. "No, Your Majesty. Everyone is happy. There aren't even any beggars in the city right now," he said with confidence.

Zhang Lian nodded, "Good. Then let's continue towards the school as planned," she ordered, leaning back in her seat.

The plan for the day was simple:

1. Visit the school to see if the children's and free education system is working properly or not.

2. Go to the prison and decide the fate of the criminals.

3. Check on the areas ruled by ministers to make sure there was no corruption.

4. Finally, see how the people really felt.

But her true goal was different, which is to search for a concubine.

As the carriage continued, the city streets became quieter as they left the busy center behind. Zhang Lian closed her eyes for a moment, being bored.

Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a stop. Zhang Lian's eyes snapped open. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice harsh.

A boy had run into the street in front of the carriage. The driver pulled the rope, making the horses stop quickly. The guards surrounded the carriage, their hands on their weapons, looking around for any danger.

"Nothing happened; your highness, a boy came in the middle while playing," the driver said, opening the driver window.

With a nod, Zhnag Lian said, "Go ahead and make sure he's not hurt." The child was frozen as he fixed his sights on the soldiers with weapons and horses.

His clothes were dirty due to playing around, and he appeared to be between two and three years old. The driver held the horse rope strongly and looked at him.

"Move aside, boy!" one of the guards ordered.

After a moment of hesitation, the boy hurried to the side of the road while maintaining his eyes on the carriage.When his friend said, "Hey, dulamo, what happened? Let's keep playing," the boy nodded and got back into the game.

…

The carriage moved on, finally arriving at the school. The building was large, with learning roofs and wooden roofs. The walls were made of stone, and the entrance had large wooden doors with detailed carvings.

The school was big, with paths lined with trees. There were separate wings for different studies—martial arts, literature, and medicine. Beyond this main hall were smaller buildings for classrooms and training areas and even hostel facilities.

As the carriage stopped, Lan was the first to step out, holding the door open for the queen.

The Zhnag lian moved smoothly, fixing her robes as she stepped down. Her long, white hair fell over her shoulders. The heavy fabric of her robe touched the ground as she walked.

A cat came back and sat on Zhang Lian's shoulder, its tail flicking lazily as it looked around. "Such a big school. So many children to choose from, Nya."

Zhang Lian's eyes narrowed a little as she looked at the students waiting inside to welcome her.

There were about 500-600 children, all dressed in simple white uniforms with queen faces on them.

They stood in rows and were then followed by children behind them and teachers standing in front, their faces filled with excitement and nervousness.

Some of the older boys and teacher couldn't help but let their thoughts become horny and imagine Zhnag Lian's white, nude body.

Zhang Lian walked forward. The children quickly quieted down as she approached. The cat on her shoulder flicked its tail again. "So many choices, Nya. Surely one of them must be a good one."